Thursday, July 12, 2007

Living With Crohn's? Tune in for Insurance Tips

As you probably know, Michael Moore's new film Sicko has heated up the health care debate. I'm not surprised since 47 million people are uninsured in the United States; and many of them go without health insurance coverage or find insurance companies unwilling to pay for tests or medications because of preexisting conditions, such as Crohn's disease.

Did you know that about 500,000 Americans have Crohn's disease, an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes chronic inflammation of the intestinal tract?
(Note: This photo is an endoscopic image of Crohn's showing deep ulceration in sigmoid colon. Photo released into public domain on permission of patient. Source:Wikipedia.)

Like ulcerative colitis, another common IBD, Crohn's disease can be both painful and debilitating and sometimes may lead to life-threatening complications.

It' s no secret that many people living with a digestive condition such as Crohn's disease are flustered, overwhelmed or just plain angered by insurance companies who refuse to cover pre-approved tests or consider useful medicines unnecessary.

Yes, this is ridiculous. I can only imagine how frustrating it is to navigate the world of health care insurance if you or a loved one is living with Crohn's disease.

But a Health Talk program, "Crohn's: It's My Money," aims to help you deal with your frustrations. The show will air on the Internet on Tuesday, August 14, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. EST (4:00 p.m. PST).
I urge those of you living with Crohn's (or caring for someone that is) to tune into the show for a chance to tell your story and hear helpful advice about what you can do to get the coverage you deserve. You'll learn how to check for incorrect claim statements, find an advocate on the inside to help you and make your voice heard.

You need to register in advance to participate. But when you register you'll also have the opportunity to submit a question to the Health Talk experts, who will also answer questions from guests live during the program.

Feel free to ask your questions in our Revolution Health community forums as well! We have some helpful resources for you, including patient advocate Jill Sklar, who offers insight, support and advice in the Crohn's and digestive health community as well as in her blog, Living with Crohn's.


Listen to a previous Health Talk program on Crohn's and Initmacy


All the best,
Gastro Girl

3 comments:

Dallas Health said...

What are the various types of health insurance programmes that are available to me, and which is best suited to suit the needs of my family and myself? How do I choose the ideal health care plan? What are the major points that one needs to bear in mind while buying Health Care Insurance Policy? http://natural-health-care-information.blogspot.com

Diabetes Supply said...

At first, your blood sugar level may rise so slowly that you may not know that anything is wrong. One-third of all people who have diabetes do not know that they have the disease. If you do have Type 2 Diabetes Symptom, they may include: Feeling thirsty. Having to urinate more than usual, Feeling more hungry than usual, Losing weight without trying to. http://diets-diabetes.blogspot.com/

Petronella said...

Good post.

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Gastro Girl
Passionate about digestive health, I put an entertaining spin on all things digestive to get us all more comfortable talking about these issues. Why? Because we find talking about them embarrassing and by not talking about them, we may be ruining our relationships, our careers and more importantly our overall health and well-being. Send me your questions, suggestions, comments and any related links. My aim is to help educate and build a community of support. email Gastro Girl
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